


call them all escapees

by Limelight_Write



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, I was just very bored, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, The Oh Hello's, every chapter is just a new character being upset man idk, everyones stories will mingle and get resolved, it's not like a collection of one shots though, its gonna be a party, please i worked so hard, sleepy bois inc - Freeform, the title of the work and all the chapters are The Oh Hello's lyrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28866822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limelight_Write/pseuds/Limelight_Write
Summary: when i was a childi didn't hear a single word you saidthe things i was afraid ofthey were all confined beneath my bedbut the years have been longand you have taught me well to hide awaythe things that i believed inyou've taught me to call them all escapes
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), I'M LAZY - Relationship, No Romantic Relationship(s), others
Kudos: 5





	call them all escapees

**Author's Note:**

> when the feeling leaves you   
> it moves so slow   
> like the loose change from your front pocket   
> you don’t even feel it go   
> when the bitter creeps in   
> to bite you whole   
> a spectre unreflected, oh   
> it keeps you cold   
> when you keep your linens   
> like virgin snow   
> like a blanket of white   
> unbroken by the soil below   
> the sound don’t carry   
> won’t rise or fall   
> it damps the racket, chokes it back   
> a stranglehold

Morning light hits the empty bed, creating stripes on the pale sheets, tossed and messed up in a way that would make any outsider believe the bed is well slept in. The leather couch down the hall gives a disapproving sound, soft socks hitting the carpeted floor with the heaviness of a distraught thought.

Clay forces his feet to move him to the kitchen, the ringing in his ears filling every inch of his home, circling the inside of his head, taunting him as the floor zooms in and out of his sight,  _ fall, collapse, break,  _ he ignores the ringing, filling a glass. He brings it to his lips, letting the cold water touch and coat his dry lips, setting it down on the counter without swallowing any, disallowing himself the familiar feeling of the cold sliding down his broken throat.

His eyes trace over the fruit bowl in the corner, and he forces his feet to move him to his office, falling into his chair with a slump, a heaviness to him that he can’t shake, that’s hovered over him for days now. He opens Discord, promising himself he’ll act like himself today, that no one will worry. No one will see the heaviness that has wrapped itself around his neck and hung him like a broken man.

With the click of a button, Clay puts on a face, a face that says he’s completely fine, a face that says ‘don’t worry, I’ll figure it out alone, I always do, all alone’. Alone. Always Alone, “Hey,” he chokes out after joining the call, mentally cursing himself as the word squeezes itself out of his vocal chords.

“Dream!” Nick greets him with the same extravagant tone as always, momentarily snapping Clay out of his sleepy trance, but he quickly falls back into it, not having enough energy to be fully awake, “You finally got on, we were just talking about you. Did you just wake up?”

“Hi, Sapnap. Yeah, long night, sorry,” Clay forces a chuckle, biting the inside of his cheek, desperate for Darryl or George to pick up the conversation so he doesn’t have to carry it himself.

“Nah, it’s fine. We’re just running through the parkour course, are you logging on?”

“Maybe later, Sap. I’ll just sit and talk, I’m still kind of out of it from just waking up, I’d just fall over and over again, I’m not giving you that satisfaction,” Clay jabbs back with a slight smile. The heaviness looms behind him, a constant threat to drown him if he lets himself become too comfortable.

“Don’t blame the fact that you suck at the course on you being tired,  _ Dream _ ,” George speaks up, his voice a comforting familiarity in Clay’s ear.

“Good morning to you too, George,” Clay coos in return, receiving a scoff from George and a light laugh from Nick, “Is Bad muted?”

“No, I’m here!” Daryll’s voice is chipper, and it’s a sucker punch to Clay’s gut how happy his friends are. Where did the heaviness come from, and why is it only affecting him?

“Ah, okay, you were just being quiet,” Clay observes, his tone is more blank than intended. The others don’t seem to notice as they continue conversing as if he isn’t there at all. The small group continues playing while Clay sits back and listens, occasionally offering input to the conversation, but mostly staying quiet.

“Alright, bye-bye!” Daryll logs off first, followed by Nick, leaving Clay and George to sit in silence for a much longer period of time than Clay is comfortable with.

“Dream?”   
  
“Yeah?” Clay yawns back, kicking himself under his desk. George doesn’t speak again for at least thirty seconds, which Clay counts anxiously.

“Are you…” Clay mentally begs George not to ask if he’s okay, he’s a terrible liar, and he knows George can tell he’s not so what’s the point, “Are you free later? Like, in a couple hours?” Clay freezes, he was prepared for the inevitable, but now he doesn’t know how to answer. He stays silent so George continues, “I was thinking we could watch a movie or something, or just talk, I don’t know. I feel like we never do anything together outside of Minecraft.”   
  
The heaviness lifts itself momentarily from Clay’s face, allowing him to slip a soft smile, “Yeah, sounds good. Text me when, okay?” 

“Okay. Take care.”

The Discord disconnect sound plays as George leaves the call, Clay lingers in the empty voice channel, George definitely noticed, but he didn’t ask. Clay would thank George a million times over later, he promises himself that. With a hesitant click he disconnects from the empty call, the disconnect sound playing in his ears for the fourth time that day as he leans back in his chair.

He doesn’t know how long he was staring at his ceiling when his phone rings with George’s text tone. He reaches over and looks at the text with heavy eyes.

_ ‘It’s only been like thirty minutes but I finished editing, you up for doing something now?’ _

Clay sits up straighter in his chair,  _ ‘Sure! Any ideas?’ _

_ ‘I thought we could just use the Netflix party thing and watch a movie on call. But we could always just talk first.’ _

Clay reads over the text again and again. George knows. He definitely knows.

_ ‘Yeah, sure. Call you on Discord?’ _

_ ‘Mhm! Talk to you in a sec!’ _

Clay clicks George’s icon, opening their private messages, and hits the call button, forcing his headphones onto his ears. George picks up before the first ring is even finished, causing Clay to laugh lightly, “Waiting for me?”   
  
“Maybe. Shut up.”   
  
Clay momentarily flourishes at George’s voice in his ear, being the main focus of all his attention lifting the heaviness off his chest as he talks, “Well, I’m glad you did.”   
  
“Miss me?”   
  


“Very much,” he admits softly, earning a mildly surprised choke sound from George’s end.

“Oh,” the older male breathes, “I missed you too.”

Clay could burst, the soft tone of his best friend’s voice lifting some of the heaviness from his chest, “How have you been? We didn’t talk much earlier,” his voice is still soft, and George’s voice comes just as softly when he replies.

“I’ve been alright, nothing much has changed, I suppose,” he paused, “How have you been?”

Clay stops. He’s a horrible liar, he knows that, George knows that. But he isn’t ready to say anything yet, “It gets lonely because of quarantine, but Nick drives over occasionally, and I get to talk to you on call, so it’s manageable,” he replies, not lying, just not telling the full truth. A balance.

“Do you want to watch a movie? I have this one that I was told to watch by Nick, so I’m sure it’s stupid,” George laughs lightly.

“It’s a rom-com, isn’t it?” Clay deadpans, earning a light giggle from George that causes a jolt in Clay’s heart.

“Yeah, it’s called Going the Distance, it’s, uh, slightly inappropriate, Nick’s words not mine,” George chuckles, Clay laughs in return, momentarily forgetting the heaviness looming over him.

“Sure, you could stream it on Discord and we could watch it together,” Clay smiles slightly, watching as the ‘watch stream’ button becomes an option, he clicks it immediately, the heaviness lifting away slowly as the movie begins.

The pair sit through the majority of the movie laughing and talking, making teasing “OoOoOoh” sounds in the steamier scenes, effectively making each other laugh so they weren’t awkward through any of it. Clay gets very quiet at the point in the movie where the protagonists had no choice but to break up, having a teary, heartfelt goodbye. He isn’t responding to George at all, and it starts to worry him, so he pauses the movie.

“Clay?” George speaks cautiously, “Are you good?”

“Fine, thanks,” Clay squeaks out, his voice wavering.

“Are you crying?” George asks, stifling a laugh behind his hand. Clay wipes at his face haphazardly, a soft choked sound coming from his mouth, “Aww, I didn’t know you were one to cry at sappy romance movies.”

“I’m not!” Clay counters, his voice broken, “But they- I’m- they’re so far away from each other, George, they just want to be together, but the fucking distance, George,” he nearly sobs the words out, taking George aback for a moment.

“Hey, breathe, will you? We don’t have to watch the rest, we could do something else.”

“No, no, it’s a comedy, there has to be a happy ending. Just press play.”

George sits silently for a moment before hesitantly pushing play. Clay sits with his arms folded over his desk, his face buried into them, he just listens to the audio as the movie continues, enjoying the sound of George’s occasional light laughter, or soft absentminded ‘aw’s.

When the movie comes to a close they sit and watch the credits roll, George stifling laughter at the ridiculous movie ending, “See? Comedies always have happy endings,” Clay reiterates his point from earlier.

“Yeah,” George laughs lightly, “You good now?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Clay smiles softly, “Sorry, I don’t know what got into me, I guess I just felt like I understood in a way? I don’t know, not the romance though,” he admits carefully.

“How’s that?”

“You’re so far away, George,” Clay breathes, the heaviness clawing its way back down his throat, nearly suffocating him, “So, so far away.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” George replies cautiously after a moment of deafening silence that Clay is just happy has been broken.   


  
“That’s okay. You should get to bed. Goodnight, George,” with that Clay hangs up, not waiting for a reply, sinking back into his chair, clawing at his eyes with a piercing cry from his own throat, a sobbing beg for the heaviness to lift. It doesn’t. Clay climbs into bed. He’s only been awake a few hours. He can’t bring himself to stand. He falls into a heavy, uncomfortable sleep.

Evening light hits the empty bed, creating stripes on the pale sheets, tossed and messed up in a way that would make any outsider believe the bed is well slept in.


End file.
